PPG Industries recently marked the startup of a new electronic materials group (EMG) manufacturing cell at its Springdale, PA., industrial coatings plant. This addition positions the company in the fast-growing global electronics market for conductive inks and coatings. The commissioning of the new cell marks the transfer of business and technology from industrial coatings producer Spraylat Corp., which PPG acquired late last year.

Among the range of conductive inks and coatings the EMG cell will produce are two new technologies – graphene and nanosilver conductive inks – for specialized electronics applications in the medical, automotive and telecommunications fields. The market for such technologies is expanding rapidly and is expected to continue growing for the next decade, according to Glenn Thornley, PPG operations director, industrial coatings.